Cardiac tamponade
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Cardiac tamponade
Cardiac tamponade is a condition caused by too much fluid in the space between the heart and the sac that surrounds it, called the pericardium. This fluid collection can put weight and pressure on the heart, which means that it cannot expand properly and so it does not fill with normal amounts of blood.
Cardiac tamponade is an emergency condition; the inability of the heart to pump enough blood may eventually lead to heart failure.
Credits
| Author | Jeannette Curtis |
| Author | Caroline Rea, RN, BS, MS |
| Editor | Kathleen M. Ariss, MS |
| Editor | Susan Van Houten, RN, BSN, MBA |
| Associate Editor | Tracy Landauer |
| Associate Editor | Pat Truman |
| Primary Medical Reviewer | Patrice Burgess, MD - Family Medicine |
| Primary Medical Reviewer | Adam Husney, MD - Family Medicine |
| Primary Medical Reviewer | Kathleen Romito, MD - Family Medicine |
| Last Updated | May 25, 2007 |
| Last updated: | May 25, 2007 |
|---|---|
| Author: | Caroline Rea, RN, BS, MS |
| Reviewed By: | Kathleen Romito, MD - Family Medicine |
| Editors: | Susan Van Houten, RN, BSN, MBA, Pat Truman |
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